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Microsoft on Monday unveiled a new set of gesture commands and associated hardware designed to make it easier to get around Windows 8 with a mouse. The navigation techniques will work with the new keyboard and mouse peripherals that Microsoft developed specifically for Windows 8 devices.

The software drivers for some older input devices may be updated to also support the gesture commands.

Windows 8 Gestures:

Windows 8 gestures follow the same basic principles as Windows 7 finger movements: one finger manages content and two fingers manage apps (formerly windows). Similar to Windows 7, a one finger slide lets you scroll in any direction. A one-finger flick lets you scroll more quickly--a good way to get to the next screen of app tiles in the Start Screen. You can also use the thumb to move backwards or forwards through an app just like in Windows 7

A two-finger slide to the left displays the Windows 8 Charms Bar that includes quick access to Settings, the new Share feature, connected devices, search, and the Start Screen. A two-finger slide to the right lets you switch through open apps.

Sliding two fingers up or down shows an app's commands. Presumably, sliding two fingers up in the Metro version of Internet Explorer 10, for example, would bring up the address bar and the open tabs menu.

The biggest change for gestures in Windows 8 is the three-finger slide to zoom. Instead of using three fingers to show all your open windows or show the desktop (neither of which makes much sense in the full screen Metro UI), three fingers up zooms in and three fingers down zooms out. It's not clear if this behavior is system-wide or if the three-finger slide in the traditional desktop will behave the same as it did in Windows 7. It's also not clear if there will be a snap feature using gestures as Windows 7 had.